Drought Expected

By now we have all heard, read or seen news accounts of an impending drought in 2014.  Governor Brown declared a drought emergency for California; President Obama visited the Central Valley and water providers up and down the state are scrambling to decide courses of action on a macro level.  While this preparation is warranted and expected, we at Gardenworks are doing some preparation of our own but at a local and micro level.

• Our website now has a drought resource section.

• We are in the process of updating our 2014 landscape water budgets for our landscape maintenance/management customers factoring in the expected reductions in available water for landscape use.  These budgets determine the right amount of water that should be applied per month based upon the weather, plant type, sprinkler type and size of landscape.  These budgets are also the prescribed method for proper landscape watering by the State of California.

• The Gardenworks team is involved with providing education in the area of landscape water use efficiency.  Peter Estournes is teaching classes for the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper certification program sponsored by the Sonoma County Water Agency.  He will also be teaching a class, open to the general public, at Santa Rosa Junior College on Landscape Water Conservation in April.

• The Gardenworks  team is also made up of other industry certified professionals that “walk the talk” with water conservation and efficiency via the EPA Watersense program, the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper  program, the Water Management Certification program, and the Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor program.  Members of our team are certified locally, statewide and nationally when it comes to saving our clients water.

• The Gardenworks team is meeting with, and has relationships with, local water providers in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg, and Cloverdale.  We also work regularly with Sonoma County Water Agency.

• Our staff members read water meters during every service visit to look for indications of leaks or abnormal water use that we can “jump on” and resolve quickly.  We compare meter readings to the water budget for that property so that we can track and mange landscape watering.

• We have been installing and managing weather based/SMART irrigation controllers for nearly 10 years.

• Our team is available to be the water conservation, irrigation efficiency resource for you, your neighbors, and your town. Please contact us to start saving water now!